Editorial - Election Ballot Barcodes

The Office of the Ombudsman has sent a letter to the Election Commission requesting clarification about complaints regarding barcodes and QR codes on election ballots. These complaints suggest that the codes might enable tracking of individual voters' choices for specific parliamentary candidates and political parties, potentially constituting a violation of constitutional and election laws. The Election Commission has been given 7 days to respond. Prior to this, 12 complaints were filed regarding the February 8, 2569 election, with 3 specifically requesting constitutional court review of the ballot codes. The Ombudsman's office will review the Election Commission's response and decide whether to forward the matter to the Constitutional Court or dismiss the complaints. The recent election was marked by intense competition and potentially irregular use of state power networks, with significant criticism of the Election Commission's performance, particularly regarding the controversial ballot coding.